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It sometimes seems that classroom time in the early years of school is one big block interrupted only by food and play. Maybe it is because many of the subjects, especially reading and writing, are related to each other. “Reading and writing are reciprocal processes that strengthen each other,” says Susan Taber, former communication arts consultant for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She says it’s important for parents to be “reading to and listening to [their child] read.” Also, encouraging your child to write about what he has read is important. Taber says this doesn’t necessarily have to be a summarization, but rather, trying to make a connection with his own life. She says that doing this on a regular basis can greatly improve comprehension skills. Parents can also model writing for their child. At a young age, your child is transitioning from being read to, to being able to read for himself. When writing, he is able to string together longer sentences, and it is a good time to take a look at homophones and sentence structure. Homophones are words that sound alike despite variations in meaning and spelling. Your child probably is able to recognize the differences in meaning when you are helping him read, but confusion shows when your child tries to write these words. In English, there is no straightforward way to remember these tricky groups of words—they must be memorized. Contracted homophones, such as you’re and your, are a little easier than the rest. Remove the apostrophe and test to see if the two words together have the correct meaning. (“I want to take your picture.” Or, “I want to take you are picture.”) For sentence structure and grammer, it’s a good idea to help your child learn which parts of speech are interchangeable. “Mad Libs” can help a child with this by asking for specific parts of speech to fill into blanks, but the sentences probably won’t make sense. The exercises below will help your child practice creativity by modifying a simple sentence. The homophone exercises will give you and your child practice for harder pairs. (Remember the trouble you had keeping its and it’s straight?) By Jamie L. Scheppers [WORKSHEET] 1. Use the following words to complete the sentence: (birthday, candy and friend) I gave my _______ a bag of ________ for her _________. 2. Use your own words and phrases to make three new sentences. Try to be creative! I gave my _______ a bag of ________ for her _________. I gave my _______ a bag of ________ for her _________. I gave my _______ a bag of ________ for her _________. 3. The following sentences have words missing. Use the words in parenthesis to finish the sentences. Be careful! The words sound alike when read aloud. I want to _____ a _____ for Halloween. (bee, be) My baby brother is going _____ turn _____ years old tomorrow. (to, two) Until you come over _____, I won’t be able to _______ you. (here, hear) I bought a ______ of socks. (pear or pair) _______ have a piece of fuzz in my _______. (eye, I) My mom wants _______ and quiet, but I want a _______ of pizza. (peace, piece) I ______ ______ cookies. (eight, ate) Answers: 1. I gave my friend a bag of candy for her birthday. 2. You’ll have to check these yourself. Don’t forget positive praise! 3. I want to be a bee for Halloween. My baby brother is going to turn two years old tomorrow. Until you come over here, I won’t be able to hear you. I bought a pair of socks. I have a piece of fuzz in my eye. My mom wants peace and quiet, but I want a piece of pizza. I ate eight cookies. |
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